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A review by hellcatjennie
Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana
adventurous
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A cozy and adventurous read, a stellar debut novel from Analeigh Sbrana. I’m giving this a 3.75/5, while I really enjoyed this book I would’ve liked the pacing to be more consistent. There were too many chapters where I was left confused and feeling like I’d skipped something, or things happened so fast that I was never nervous when they were in danger, felt very YA while not being a YA novel. But despite those minor gripes, everything else was great, especially that cliff hanger at the end. I did not expect that, hats off Ms. Sbrana.
Lore is a human who works for her aunt and uncle in an apothecary shop wishing to discover magic. It opens with her grief of losing her parents and wishing she could do more for her village. The Fae are a cruel and arrogant people, who by all means look down on the humans as lesser beings. Shortly after an earthquake shakes her village, she is forced to leave it behind and thus she is thrust into the world of the Fae. What begins as a simple task of cleaning and logging books in a warded library she discovers a magical grimoire that later reveals to be a spell book. She is guarded by Asher who is a light Fae and is the only person that is kind to her, they develop a friendship and have a kindling of romance before Lore decides to run away with the grimoire so she can attempt to save her people. Now with the royal Fae on the hunt for her, she runs away with Asher who becomes more than a friend and they reach a village along the way, meeting Isla, Finndryl and Griph who take her in as their own. They embark on a mission after she rescues her friend Grey from a Fae queen who tells her what has become of their town and how women and children were stolen by the very Fae that had stolen Lore to clean the library under the guise of helping her people initially. They uncover the truth and much more along their journey of magic and justice.
I really adored Lore, she’s brave, self sacrificing and smart! You can really feel her passion for her people and her thirst for knowledge knows no bounds. The romance in this book is so frustrating because while she seems to focus her attention on Asher the first half of the book, he doesn’t seem to quite click into place for me as a romantic lead. He’s a nice guy but so so dull, which is intentional (I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone). Because we meet Finndryl and my oh my, I was feral for this man since the second he was introduced. I’m definitely partial to their relationship blooming into something more, their chemistry is just palpable and they have a genuine connection. Isla is more than likely my favorite character-from her style to her bright personality, she’s someone I definitely want to be friends with. I loved the curl care/locs mentioned in a medieval setting, that was cool to read in a fantasy novel as most are written by white authors and feature mainly only white characters, it’s refreshing to read diversity in this genre for once!
This was marketed as a cottage-core/love triangle and it surely delivered! I’ll be keeping an eye out for the second installment as I’m sure this will only continue to build into something spectacular.
A cozy and adventurous read, a stellar debut novel from Analeigh Sbrana. I’m giving this a 3.75/5, while I really enjoyed this book I would’ve liked the pacing to be more consistent. There were too many chapters where I was left confused and feeling like I’d skipped something, or things happened so fast that I was never nervous when they were in danger, felt very YA while not being a YA novel. But despite those minor gripes, everything else was great, especially that cliff hanger at the end. I did not expect that, hats off Ms. Sbrana.
Lore is a human who works for her aunt and uncle in an apothecary shop wishing to discover magic. It opens with her grief of losing her parents and wishing she could do more for her village. The Fae are a cruel and arrogant people, who by all means look down on the humans as lesser beings. Shortly after an earthquake shakes her village, she is forced to leave it behind and thus she is thrust into the world of the Fae. What begins as a simple task of cleaning and logging books in a warded library she discovers a magical grimoire that later reveals to be a spell book. She is guarded by Asher who is a light Fae and is the only person that is kind to her, they develop a friendship and have a kindling of romance before Lore decides to run away with the grimoire so she can attempt to save her people. Now with the royal Fae on the hunt for her, she runs away with Asher who becomes more than a friend and they reach a village along the way, meeting Isla, Finndryl and Griph who take her in as their own. They embark on a mission after she rescues her friend Grey from a Fae queen who tells her what has become of their town and how women and children were stolen by the very Fae that had stolen Lore to clean the library under the guise of helping her people initially. They uncover the truth and much more along their journey of magic and justice.
I really adored Lore, she’s brave, self sacrificing and smart! You can really feel her passion for her people and her thirst for knowledge knows no bounds. The romance in this book is so frustrating because while she seems to focus her attention on Asher the first half of the book, he doesn’t seem to quite click into place for me as a romantic lead. He’s a nice guy but so so dull, which is intentional (I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone). Because we meet Finndryl and my oh my, I was feral for this man since the second he was introduced. I’m definitely partial to their relationship blooming into something more, their chemistry is just palpable and they have a genuine connection. Isla is more than likely my favorite character-from her style to her bright personality, she’s someone I definitely want to be friends with. I loved the curl care/locs mentioned in a medieval setting, that was cool to read in a fantasy novel as most are written by white authors and feature mainly only white characters, it’s refreshing to read diversity in this genre for once!
This was marketed as a cottage-core/love triangle and it surely delivered! I’ll be keeping an eye out for the second installment as I’m sure this will only continue to build into something spectacular.